How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical, is a story about the triumph of the common man amid the buffoonery of big business. When an ambitious window washer named J. Pierrepont Finch happens upon a book entitled 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying', he decides to begin his rise up the corporate ladder. With the book's instructions, Finch starts by landing a job in the mailroom. He is soon promoted and outsmarts his rival, Frump, the boss's nephew, before finally reaching the very top of the organization. From the beginning, Finch has the love and support of Rosemary, a marriage-minded secretary who finds him endearing. In his pursuit of the top job, Finch is in danger losing Rosemary's love. Finch's manual to success can no longer help him as he must rely on his wit and heart to save the day.
The standout score by Frank Loesser features such classics as the surreal and funny "Coffee Break", the rousing "Brotherhood of Man", and the melodious tongue-in-cheek ballad "I Believe In You", while the book by Burrows, Weinstock, and Gilbert, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1962 for Best Drama.